After Spending Hours Researching and Trying...

...I am giving up on my iphone video I wanted to post. Can't figure it out...

Oh, well...this is what greeted us on Monday afternoon, when Dave, Mom and I arrived to see the girls. Mary had her arms full of wonderful, precious images of God and add to that, a huge smile! (Hang in there, sweetie...it won't be long...they'll be home soon...) We had stopped at Mary and Cal's to show my mom the nursery...soon you'll be getting pictures from there, I suspect.

On to the pictures:




This is Norah in my hand - I like to hold them on my lap and look at their faces. She had been up on my shoulder but I brought her down and snapped this with my phone.




Now, though this is not an overly darling picture, I am posting it to show how strong the girls are. This is Ashley, but Norah does the same thing. They stretch and arch their backs. They have very strong necks and can change positions easily. They don't drop their heads but with control, they place them back on their beds or your shoulder, depending on where they are sleeping...




...sleeping. That is the main issue. When they sleep, they can still take a bottle, but the night nurses aren't as insistent on them finishing their bottles as Cal and Mary are. The girls will finish a bottle within the allotted time, but at night, the nurses will quickly put the food down their tube when they doze off - it's called "gavage" - to force feed through a tube. This will be over soon, but I can see the frustration in Cal and Mary because they know the girls will take the food, even when asleep. (This is Norah in Dave's hand.)





Here's a bigger view of the room, so you can see what we do while we're there. If the girls are together in the same room, we have to sit close because they are both hooked up to monitors. Then for feedings, they have to be in their own rooms.





This is Ashley, zonked in great grandma's arms...




Now, though I can't get my really cool video to work, I was able to flip the screen around and take a self portrait of grandma with Norah...not overly impressive, but I am easily amused...




And finally, one last precious picture of Norah in my arms. Isn't she beautiful? The girls are growing - Ashley is over six pounds now, and Norah is an ounce or two under...you can see a huge difference from their early pictures.

My mom has left to return to Orlando. She was so delighted to hold the girls and talk with Mary. I think it was a truly special time for her to spend with her first great grandchildren. It was kind of mean, but when I called my mom to tell her about the twins (that we had two and not just one coming), I said to her, "I guess Calvin is not meant to give you your first grandchild." She said, "Oh, no..." and I quickly added, "Nope, he's going to give you your first TWO grandchildren!" She paused and then laughed with great joy! This summer will be fun when Great Grandma returns...